The California state firefighter arrested on suspicion of arson in Mendocino County was a member of the state’s inmate firefighting program after being found guilty of felony DUI. Robert Hernandez, 38, was serving a six year sentence that started in 2017 after being convicted of vehicular manslaughter in San Bernardino. He was released on parole in 2018 after serving as an inmate firefighter. He completed parole in late 2020. Hernandez was scheduled to make his first appearance on Tuesday, but that was postponed due to the court’s record keeping system being down. Cal Fire spokesperson Nick Schuler said in an interview on Tuesday he didn’t know of another firefighter arsonist in Cal Fire’s history, but that the phenomenon has occurred before in other fire departments. Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said he was “appalled to learn one of CalFire’s employees would violate the public’s trust and attempt to tarnish the tireless work of the 12,000 women and men of Cal Fire.”